Botanicals: Direct Printing & Embroidery of Kawakawa Leaves January 2017

At the beginning of the year Kristin Axtman, from Brooklyn Haberdashery, proposed a year long, creative project Instagram challenge called #our52weekproject.
The rules are guidelines & extremely flexible; you choose your own project, choose a unique hashtag & post to IG once each week.
​That's it !
So simple & so attractive.  
Attractive to me because I like to experiment with different techniques & different media AND I like to have a point of focus & a deadline, albeit self imposed & arbitrary - basically it just helps me get shit done !

Kawakawa (piper excelsum)

Selecting a unique hashtag which relates to your project is a brilliant idea for posting to IG as it means all your own posts will be in one place. 
I've chosen the general theme of 'botanicals' which will allow me to experiment & explore many different things & I'll be using the hashtag #52weeksofbotanicals.

January has been an exploration of mono printing & embellishing the mono prints with embroidery.
I've been making direct prints of kawakawa leaves (piper excelsum) onto calico using water based fabric paint which is heat set by ironing before I add some embroidery stitches. 

kawakawa leaf

direct print on paper

direct print on fabric

On a side note, last year I started 'a thing', guidelines for me to work under, basically, to use readily available materials, which makes things accessible to me & it also keeps the cost down.
This month's project has been a great example of that.
The leaves grow in my back yard.
The fabric, fabric paints & embroidery cotton are sold in my local Spotlight store & are affordable.
The make up sponges I've used to apply the paint I bought in my local supermarket.
I found a superb resource book at my local library.

Below is a gallery of photos which show the process I've used.
​I think piccies are easier to flick through then wading through a sea of words.

materials

leaf front

leaf underside which is the side I'll print from

don't need much paint

dab the sponge into the paint to cover the end

dab the back of the leaf to get the coverage you want

getting an even layer on the leaf

test printing on paper & using a smaller piece of newsprint as cover

applying pressure with my fingers to get imprint detail of veins, holes & edges

ready to lift the leaf off

using the stem to lift it

test print on paper

assessing detail

ready to print onto fabric, having cleaned the left over paint off the underside of the leaf

inked up again using the same method

leaf on fabric

leaf, print on paper, print on fabric

residual paint post printing

hot iron to heat set, follow instructions for whichever paint you are using

using a cover cloth over the print

embroidery running stitch using a single gold thread

I am incredibly excited about this year long project as it will provide a year's worth of motivation & continual exploration.
Continual exploration ensures I will be able to approach my creative year with enthusiasm, excitement & energy.
I look forward to trying new things, learning new things & hell, I'll probably even take myself out & meet new people !
I've said it before & I'll say it again, I love Instagram & this is why.

'flawless'

'how do you mend a broken heart' 2

'tie the knot'

'a little rough round the edges'

 Embroidered Kawakawa Monoprints 
January 2017

Of course the added bonus is that I will end the year with at least 52 new art works.